Those Summer Nights
by GoingVintage
Summary: It starts with a blackout and ends the night before a new school year begins. Lima summer nights belong to Puck and Rachel. Support Stacie Author Auction fic! ONE-SHOT.


**A/N1:** This fic is for the runner-up of the Support Stacie Author Auction, **2looney**! Sorry if most of your prompts got lost while writing. However, the idea of wet!Puck inspired by Mark's _Flaunt _photo shoot did stay in!

**A/N2:** I took great liberties here. Yes, I know that Quinn's baby is born earlier but since we haven't seen the episodes yet, just go with me here. And I also made up a bunch of crap about Lima geography and Lima history but that's okay because this is fiction and I can!

**A/N3:** Thank you to **knkykty** for the loaning of her muse since mine was obviously not cooperating. I couldn't have done it without you! Also, thanks to **cheapen** for the handholding and for being my cheerleader. I love you both so much!

* * *

The night the lights went out in Lima, Rachel Berry doesn't panic - at first. It's early June and about 20 degrees warmer than it normally is for that time of year. She wanders around her house getting candles and flashlights, muttering to herself about the fact that this only happens to her when her fathers are out of town, and then she hears a noise. It's small at first…barely even a noise, really. But then it sounds like something is scraping against the metal siding of the house and Rachel gets visions of big metal claws attached to the hand of an escaped homicidal rapist who is on a mission to procure himself the virginal flesh of a stunning young ingénue. Before she knows it, she's dialing the phone and begging the closest person she knows to please come by and save her from becoming a horribly tragic part of Lima's crime statistics.

On the other end of the phone, Noah Puckerman grouses at Rachel's request and then sighs. He's got nothing else to do, obviously. He'd been sitting in his bedroom, reading old magazines by candlelight when his cell phone rang, so sure, why the hell not?

Five minutes later, he's standing on Rachel's dark porch, pounding on the door. "C'mon, Rachel! It's me, Puck! It's safe, I swear!"

Rachel jerks the door open, shining the flashlight in his face and he winces. "The fuck, Rachel? It's a blackout, not the end of the fucking world! What is that, a 3 million watt bulb?"

Rachel glares at him and points the flashlight downward. In a loud whisper, she advises, "Noah, I keep hearing sounds coming from the side of the house. It sounds like someone is perhaps trying to use a metal object to dig under the house. I tried to call the police but they informed me that due to the blackout, they're overwhelmed with requests and can't make it out here for over an hour. I could be dead by then! My intestines could be splattered all over the house by then!"

Puck crosses his arms and stares at Rachel like she's a freak. (_She is._) "Are you done, Rach? Shit. How 'bout I just take my happy ass 'round the side of the house and fucking look? I'm sure it's nothing!"

Nodding quickly, she hands him the flashlight and then picks up the broom by the door. He snickers and asks, "Weapon?" before turning his back on her and heading out into the darkness with the flashlight off (because he's a badass and isn't afraid of the dark.)

He slowly walks around the house with Rachel slinking up behind him, wielding the broom like a sword. When he gets to the back of the house, he turns back around. "There's not shit out here, Berry. Can we go in?"

Just then, Rachel hears the scraping noise again and she jumps, throwing the broom in the direction of the noise. Puck flips the flashlight on and shines it toward the house, zeroing in on the culprit: a large limb is lying on the ground and the branches are brushing up against the house.

"Yeah, Rach, I can see how you could have been completely defiled and ripped to shreds by a fucking tree limb. Can we go in now?"

Red with embarrassment, Rachel nods and turns back toward the house. When they step inside and close the door, Puck chuckles at what looks like 600 candles blazing in the kitchen and living room. He walks around and starts blowing every other one of them out.

Rachel reacts badly, of course. "Noah! What are you doing? It's dark in here, in case you didn't notice!"

Puck continues blowing out candles, pretending he doesn't hear her. Once half the ones on the mantle are out, he turns back around. "Rach, we don't need all those candles. It's like daylight in here because of all these. We're going to be fine. Yeah, it's a blackout but I promise, you'll be okay!"

Rachel realizes that she's acting like a scared little girl instead of the brilliant, brave woman that she is and even blows out a few of the candles herself for good measure. She's feeling better already because Noah is there. She's not sure why she called _him _of all people because they usually are at each other's throats but thanks to all the baby drama and glee club stress over the past year, they've gotten to a "place" where they don't totally hate each other (in fact, if she's honest with herself, she doesn't hate him _at all. Not in the least_.) Plus he just lives on the next street over and could be there faster than anyone else. It doesn't hurt that he has huge muscles and a glare that could scare away potential homicidal rapists with metal claws.

Rachel walks into the kitchen and pulls food out of the fridge. "You hungry, Noah?" she calls loudly.

"Of course," he answers from right behind her. She jumps and then laughs because she realizes that her nervousness is getting ridiculous. She hands Puck the meat and cheese to make sandwiches and then grabs an unopened bag of Cheetos and a loaf of bread on the counter and they head back into the living room.

They eat in silence, listening to the sound of absolute nothing caused by the blackout. For the first time, Rachel notices how loud it is inside her head when she chews. Puck crunches loudly on the Cheetos and then licks the cheese off his fingers, swirling his tongue lewdly around his index finger while he leers at Rachel. She sees it, blushes and looks down, and then quickly looks back up to watch him do the same thing to his middle finger. She ignores the flush on her face and the fact that her mind travels to places that it should _never _be, especially where he is concerned (even though it actually goes there a lot.)

"You're perverse," she says smartly.

He tosses his paper plate on the coffee table and leans back on the couch. "Nope, babe, I'm just in touch with my sexual side." Rachel rolls her eyes. "And I could be in touch with _your _sexual side, too, if you'd only let me."

Rachel scoots over and smacks him on the arm and he just laughs because, face it, she hits like a girl.

He pretends not to notice the way her lips curl around the Cheetos as she daintily puts one in her mouth. And he completely ignores the way the candlelight casts shadows on her body that make her breasts look larger than they normally are.

With nothing to do and after an intense discussion about how technology rules their worlds now, the two of them eventually fall asleep on the couch. When Rachel wakes up a few hours later, she finds herself leaning against his shoulder. He's snoring loudly, his head cocked back against the couch cushions, and her leg is twisted beneath her slightly. Sitting up, she grabs her phone and sees that it's 2am. The lights are still out and some of the candles have begun to flicker and flame out as they use up the wax. She gingerly gets up and flicks the lighter to light a few more of the candles and then looks around the room until she spies a blanket thrown over the back of Daddy's recliner. Snagging it, she brings it over to the couch and sits it down. After kicking off her loafers and peeling down her knee socks, she spreads the blanket out over herself and Puck, hooks his arm around her shoulder, and leans against his body with her head in the crook of her arm and falls back to sleep.

They wake up again at 6am when the lights come on and the television starts blaring. Puck stretches and says he better get home and then he's gone. As she walks around the house collecting spent candles, she can't help but think that she's just had the weirdest night of her summer.

* * *

A few weeks after the blackout, Rachel is home alone on a Friday night because her fathers have taken a long weekend and gone to Dresden. They'd offered for her to go but she's insisted that she didn't want to spend the weekend looking at baskets because, face it, that's pretty much all there is to do in Dresden. So Daddy handed her some cash and they took off and left her to her own devices.

She's sitting in front of the television, watching _Meet Me in St. Louis,_ when there's a knock on the door. When she opens it, her mouth drops open.

"Noah? What are you doing here?"

Puck shrugs and pushes a DVD into her hands as he walks inside the house.

"I saw this movie this week and I'm pretty sure it will scare the shit out of you so I thought I'd see if you wanna watch it."

She stares at the DVD and looks up at him. "_The Blair Witch Project_? What kind of movie is this?"

Puck walks into the kitchen and helps himself to a soda out of the fridge. "It's an old movie. It was made when we were, like, 4 years old but I saw it with Finn this week and although we both thought it was pretty lame, I thought that you'd probably be freaked the fuck out. So you wanna watch it?"

Rachel smiles but Puck can tell it's an unsure one. He walks around to her and drops an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, babe, I'm here. I protected you from that killer tree limb and I promise I can protect you from the spooks in the movie."

Grinning, Rachel agrees to watch it. They decide to order pizza and once it gets there twenty minutes later, Puck flicks out all the lights in the house and pops in the DVD.

At first, Rachel finds the format a bit interesting. "Handheld cameras, Noah? What? I didn't think anyone had filmed a movie like that before _Cloverfield._"

Puck grins and says, "Please tell me you like that movie? That movie is so fucking awesome."

"Yes, Noah, I loved that movie. I saw it with my fathers."

Pleased that Rachel has even a modicum of taste in movies, they turn back to the television.

Puck is surprised at how well Rachel does at first. She watches attentively and curiously and doesn't seem too disturbed. But then it gets to the part where they're camping in the woods and there are noises against the tent and all around them during the night. By the time the scene is over, Rachel has a pillow in front of her face and she's peeking over the top of it. Puck's more than pleased because _this _is the reaction he'd anticipated when he came over. He knows how chicks react to scary movies and even more, he knows how _this _chick reacts.

He's watching her out of the corner of his eye because he knows, _any second now….._

Suddenly, Rachel is pressed up against him and she's thrown his arm around her shoulders and has a blanket in his lap so she can hide her face. He tugs her against him in a protective fashion and helps hold the blanket up so she can peek over it during particularly stressful scenes.

By the end of the film, she's practically sitting in his lap and her heart is racing. When the screen goes black and the credits start to roll, she hops off him and turns the DVD player off.

"Noah!" Her eyes are wide, almost crazy with fear. "That was the scariest thing I have _ever _seen! Why would you do that to me? My fathers are gone this weekend and I'm totally alone. I'm…." She starts to pace and he laughs, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"You want me to stay? I can stay if you need me to."

Her face flushes when she thinks about him staying the night but then she remembers that he's already done that once this summer so it's not really a big deal. She bobs her head and he pulls out his phone to send his mom a text message that says he's staying at Mike's that night. Then he texts Mike and tells him that if his mom calls the house, text him and he'll call her.

They go up to her room and Rachel slips into the bathroom to put on her pajamas. When she comes out, Puck's assembled a complicated stack of pillows and blankets on the floor to use as his bed. She shyly climbs in and flips the light off, sending them into blackness.

After a few minutes of silence, she shoots up in bed. "Did you hear that?"

From the floor, she hears Puck's voice. "Nope. Didn't hear a thing. Go to sleep, Rach."

She lies back down in the bed but she _knows _she's hearing things.

"Noah?" she asks softly. "Can you come up here and sleep with me?"

He swears softly and then sits up, peering at her over the edge of the mattress in the dark. "Rach…I'm gonna be brutally honest here. I don't just _sleep _with girls. When we're in a bed, we're normally _doing things_. I'm just…well…it's probably better that I stay on the floor and you stay up there because I can't promise that I can keep my hands to myself."

Rachel's face flushes at what he's said and then she glows red, her face nearly burning, when she realizes that he is saying that he wants to _do things _with her. She lies back down in the bed and stares up at the ceiling with a curious look on her face. As she falls asleep, a smile on her lips, she can't help but think that she's just had the most revealing night of her summer.

* * *

Rachel is lying across her bed, flipping through the latest issue of _Cat Fancy_ when she hears something hit the pane of her window. Used to those annoying carpenter bees outside, she ignores it and dives into a riveting article on how to train a cat to use a toilet, when she hears the noise again. Pushing her magazine aside, she gets up and peers out the window. She spots the nearly shaved head belonging to Noah standing below her. When he sees her, he motions for her to come down.

Heart pounding and with a huge smile on her face, Rachel quickly slips into the hallway. She can hear the loud snores of her fathers echoing down the hall as she creeps toward the stairs. Once she's made it to the bottom, she jerks open the door and nearly runs into Puck, who is wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts and is now leaning against a post on her porch.

"Noah? What are you doing here?"

Puck grins, shrugging as he shoves his hands into the pocket of his shorts. Rachel's eyes drift to his bare shoulders before she meets his gaze.

"It's hot as fuck in my house, Rach, and I'm bored. You wanna to go for a drive?"

"Re—really?" Rachel stutters. _You want me to go on a drive with...with you?_

Puck just grins. "Sure, why not? So…you wanna go?"

Shocked that _Noah _is asking her to do something in the middle of the night, she knows her answer sounds all too eager. "Absolutely! Give me just a minute!" Rachel sneaks back into the house and carefully navigates back up the steps to flip off her bedroom light and close the door. Grabbing her cell phone and keys and slipping on her flip-flops, she quietly eased back outside, locking the door behind her. She steps past Puck down the steps and out into the darkened yard.

"Let's go," she calls behind her.

A few minutes later, they are quietly driving down the streets of Lima and heading toward the city limits and the open countryside.

"Where are we going, Noah?" Rachel asks nervously as she glances out the window at the indecipherable scenery outside.

"You'll see," is all Puck offers in return.

They say nothing on the rest of the drive. Music plays softly through the speakers of Puck's Jeep and Rachel is relaxed, fully content to sit quietly in his vehicle with _him_, until he slows down and turns onto Redrock Road. Sitting stiffly up in her seat, Rachel's eyes grow wide.

"Redrock Road, Noah? Why are we going to Redrock Road?"

Puck laughs. "Why the fuck does anybody come to Redrock Road, Rachel?"

Rachel blanches in the dark. The Redrock Road Bridge over the Ottawa River was a notorious spot in the greater Lima area. Legend says that in 1918, a car with three women inside went over the edge of the bridge and into the river during a horrible storm, killing all inside. Since then, the lore surrounding the bridge has grown and it is rumored that if someone drives to the bridge after midnight and flashes the car lights four times in quick succession, they will be able to see an image of the ghost car right before it goes over the edge. It's also said that if a person gets out and walks across the bridge, a woman in a black dress can be seen standing on the edge, wringing her hands with worry, right before she disappears into nothingness.

Rachel's hands shake as they approach the bridge. In the distance, she can see the reflective paint that decorates the old iron supports of the ancient structure. Rachel's heart thuds in her chest and her mouth turns to sawdust when Puck slows his Jeep at the edge of the bridge.

"Noah…Are you sure you want to do this?" Rachel's hand reaches over and settles on his forearm right as the truck comes to a stop. Looking over at her, he sees that her lips pursed and an unsteady, hesitant look is on her face.

"Fuck, Rach? Are you scared?" Puck tips his head back and laughs.

Rachel scowls. "It's not funny, Noah. I happen to be a fan of paranormal investigation shows and they have captured some indisputable evidence that ghosts and demons really do exist. Do we really want to test our luck? And besides, I think you like seeing me scared. That seems to be _our _thing this summer!"

She looks helplessly at Puck, who just smiles and then turns his attention back out the front window of his Jeep. For a moment, they sit still as their eyes adjust to the darkness surrounding the vehicle.

"Ready, Rach? Here it goes!" Quickly flashing his lights four times, the two of them wait. Rachel chews on her lip and stares out the window, reminding herself that Redrock Road Bridge is nothing more than a stupid urban legend. After a few minutes without a sighting, Puck does it again. Five nearly endless minutes later, the only thing they've seen is the moon disappearing and reappearing behind the patchy clouds. Realizing that there will be no ghost sightings that night, Rachel starts to breathe easier and her body relaxes into the seat.

"Fuck this," Puck grumbles. Starting up his Jeep, he backs up and then pulls over to the side of the road. Throwing it in park, he shuts it off and pushes open the door. Rachel watches him, mouth agape, as he walks toward the bridge.

"You stayin' in the Jeep, Rach?" he calls.

Rachel watches him for a moment more and then pushes the door open, scrambling out after him. Her flip-flops crunch on the loose gravel as she catches up with him just as he is stepping onto the foundation of the bridge.

"Wha—what are we doing now, Noah? We didn't see the ghost car so we might as well go home."

Puck grins and walks a few feet further beneath the trestle of the bridge until he is nearly in the center over the river. "There's still the lady in black, Rach. I've never actually got out to see if I could see her. Haven't seen the fuckin' ghost car _ever_ and I've been coming here for a few years. But the lady in black? I know a dude who saw her so I'm thinkin' she may be our best bet."

Rachel laughs nervously, her head shifting from left to right as she looks for the elusive ghost of the dead woman. She sees nothing but the dark shapes of trees illuminated by the irregular moonlight. Other than one security light nearly a half-mile away, which Rachel can see when the wind moves in just the right direction to rustle the trees in a particular way, they are practically in the wilderness and are really, truly alone.

Neither one says anything for a while. Puck leans against the railing, arms dangling over, as he looks down at the black water below. Rachel stands close enough that she can smell his deodorant but not too close, despite the fact that she is nearly shivering in the dark.

In the distance, Rachel thinks she hears the sound of something _plunk_ into the river. With a small screech, she is suddenly digging her nails into Puck's arm.

"The fuck, Rachel?" he asks, clearly annoyed, as he pries her fingers from his bicep.

Rachel looks up at him with wide eyes. "I'm…sorry, Noah. I thought I heard something."

Puck looks around, surveying the darkened distance. "Nah…you probably just heard a branch or something fall into the river. It's pretty wild out here."

Rachel nods and steps a few feet away from Puck again, testing the strength of her independence in the blackness of the night. In the distance, they hear what sounds like an owl hoot followed by the most horrifying noise that Rachel had ever heard in all of her sixteen years of life. She chokes on her breath, nearly panicking, and launches herself at Puck, her arms going around his neck as she clings to him. Beneath her, she feels Puck's body tremble and she realizes that he is laughing, even as his arms tighten around her waist.

Scowling, Rachel pulls her head away from his neck and peers up at him, her brow wrinkled. "What's so funny?"

Puck looks down into her moonlit face. "Babe, that was a coyote….You don't get out of Lima much, do you?"

Rachel suddenly feels her face grow hot and she tries to disengage herself from around Puck's neck. He holds tight to her waist for a few seconds more and studies her face carefully. She's shocked when he dips his head and kisses her but she doesn't protest and she _certainly _doesn't pull away. When he finally pulls his lips away and releases her, she is slightly embarrassed and smoothes her clothes out and then gingerly steps across the narrow road to the other side of the bridge. "I'm sorry, Noah. I've never heard that sound before. It sounded like…like a woman screaming!" Rachel shudders at the memory and hopes against hope that she never hears that noise again.

He looks at her for a moment like he's expecting her to react to the kiss more than she does. Finally, he says, "It's pretty fuckin' freaky, I'll admit. But I was a Boy Scout and Finn and I went camping all the time so I'm used to the sound now. And coyotes are just as scared of us as we are of them…they stay away. They won't hurt you."

Rachel nods, her eyes traveling up the iron trestle and in the direction of the moon. She watches clouds pass slowly overhead and notices that the moon is nearly full before it is obscured again.

"You sure aren't talking much," Puck says a few minutes later. He's afraid the kiss pissed her off. "You okay?"

Rachel nods from across the road. "I'm fine. Just…terrified. I don't talk when I'm scared!"

Puck tilts his head like he is studying Rachel. Finally, he holds out his hand and waggles his fingers. "C'mere, Rach." When she doesn't move, he motions to her again, more insistently this time.

Finally, she steps back over next to him at the edge of the bridge and his arm goes around her waist. He pulls her to him and they lean back against the railing, staring out at the river in the distance.

"It's actually really peaceful out here if you don't let yourself freak out," Puck offers, his voice quiet. "It's hard to find a place where there's virtually no light these days. It's good to get away. I mean, shit, I know Lima isn't the big city but it's still pretty bright at night. But out here..._fuck_. You could get lost in the dark for hours out here."

As he speaks, an owl hoots again and Rachel tenses up against him. Puck chuckles and pulls her a little tighter to him. "It's okay, Rach. I gotcha. I promise."

Rachel feels herself relax slightly. His arm warms the chilled skin along her back and she feels some of the tenseness start to ease. Eventually, she sighs and begins to focus on the fact that she is in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with _Noah_ and not on the fact that they are out there ghost hunting. He quickly turns her in his arms and presses her against the iron railing, his lips dancing over hers. She shudders against the heat she feels coming from his body and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a more intense kiss. When his tongue prods against her lips and she opens her mouth to grant him entrance, the small groan that escapes his lips sends a thrill down to her toes and then back up, where it pools low in her belly. His hand slides up her body and cups her breast and he's shocked when she doesn't bat it away. When his other hand slides under her shirt and his thumb rubs over her nipple and she doesn't pull away, he feels like he's just won an award. She kisses him back feverishly as he touches her beneath her clothes and he forgets why they're even on the bridge in the first place.

As they finally part, a warm breeze washes over her face, Rachel's face shifts into a slight smile. "You know, Noah. You're right. It really isn't that bad out here once you just let yours—"

"_Hellllllllp." _The voice is soft and tinny, like it is coming through a fog, but there is obvious desperation laced in the single-worded plea. And it came from nearby. Really, _really _nearby.

Puck and Rachel both freeze in place. Rachel slowly looks up at Puck, not believing her ears, and sees that Puck is wide-eyed and looking down at her.

"D'you just fucking hear that?" he rasps, his eyes shifting from left to right erratically.

Rachel nods silently, her eyes as big as saucers.

On the opposite side of the bridge, where Rachel had been standing a few minutes before, they hear the sound of shoes shuffling against the gravel.

"_Holy fuck," _Puck whispers, terror rushing through his tall frame.

Rachel takes a deep breath and turns her eyes toward where she had been standing a few minutes before. Curiously, she tries to focus. _Is that…? I think I see…._

"Noah! _RUN!!!_" Rachel grabs Puck's hand and they both take off toward his Jeep. When they make it back, they both jump inside and Puck hits the automatic locks on the doors.

Firing up the Jeep, he backs up and flashes his lights toward the bridge. There is nothing there but an empty expanse of crumbling concrete crowned by rusty iron. They are still very much alone...but _are _they?

Rachel sucks in heavy breaths as she attempts to regain her composure. Her hands shake; disbelief coursing through her even as a deep realization that she saw what she really thought saw sinks in.

"D'you see something, Rach? Because I _know _we both fucking heard that but did you fucking _see_ something?"

Rachel nods wordlessly, her eyes fixated on the empty bridge. "I saw a shoe, Noah…and part of a leg in black stockings…and then I grabbed your hand and screamed and we ran."

Puck's face seems to fall in the darkness and he stares ahead at the bridge for a moment. Shaking his head, he throws the truck in reverse and turns around. "We're getting the fuck outta here, Rach. _Shit." _

Puck pulls the Jeep back onto the road and they head back the way they came. They start to breathe easier once the bridge is far behind them. Only then does Puck let out a breath and actually laugh about it.

"That was pretty crazy, wasn't it?"

Rachel glances over at him and notices that he is still practically white-knuckled as he drives them down the deserted road. A smile crosses her lips. "You're terrified, aren't you, Noah?"

Puck stiffens, jerking his head toward her. "Fuck no! That's not..." He stops and then laughs. "Shit yes, I'm terrified. We _heard _a ghost and you saw it. That shit is insane!"

Rachel agrees. "It was certainly unexpected." She pauses for a moment as the incident replays through her mind. A chill races up her back and she shudders.

Puck notices and extends his arm. "C'mere, babe."

Despite the fact that it is highly dangerous to drive without a seatbelt, Rachel unbuckles her belt and slides across the seat toward him. He drops his arm across her neck and gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. They drive in silence the rest of the way back to Lima, both thinking about the events that no one would _ever _believe really happened if they tried to retell them. It would have to be their little secret. And Rachel had to admit, as he pulls up in front of her house, that she loves having something to share with Noah that _no one _else can claim.

She's pushing open the door when Puck's hand is suddenly on her arm. Turning back to look at him, he cups her face and then quickly lowers his lips to hers. She kisses him back with gusto because she knows now, after tonight, that she could easily get used to kissing him like this regularly. When he pulls away, he awkwardly looks down at the steering wheel before back at her.

"Goodnight, Rach. I'll call you tomorrow."

Grinning from ear to ear, she hops out of his Jeep and rushes back inside the house. Silently closing the door, she takes a deep breath and leans against it. Ghost hunting…and kissing…with Noah Puckerman? She thinks she's just had the most exciting night of her summer.

* * *

Rachel is driving home from play practice at the very end of June. It's been raining in Lima for days; the rain coming down in torrents at time, and the whole world is soaked. She's almost to her street when she sees someone walking slowly down the sidewalk. She can't help but wonder who in their right mind would be out tonight when she realizes that she is staring at none other than a rain-drenched Noah.

She skids her car to a stop on the deserted street and rolls the window down. She yells his name into the rain but he doesn't pay any attention and just slowly keeps walking. Rachel gets out of the car, ignoring the fact that she will now be soaked, and runs over to him.

"Noah?" she practically yells against the sound of the rain.

Puck doesn't respond. Instead, he lifts his head and looks at her. His face and hair are soaked and in the flashing lightning, she can see that his eyes are red. Rachel doesn't know what's wrong but she can tell that it's something _bad. _

She puts her hands on Puck's shoulders and guides him towards her car. She expects a fight and is surprised when she doesn't get one. She opens the passenger side door and he sits down. Quickly closing it, she runs around to her trunk and pulls out the blanket she keeps there for emergencies. Getting back in, she tosses it at him. He pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it into the floor before he quietly thanks her, unfolding it to blot the rain off his face and chest.

She starts to move again and is heading toward his house when he puts a hand on her knee.

"Rach…can we…can we go somewhere? I'm not ready to go home."

Rachel looks at him curiously but agrees and then continues driving down the street and out of Lima.

She doesn't know what's wrong with Puck but he's not answering her questions when she repeatedly asks him.

She also doesn't know why she ends up back at the bridge on Redrock Road but a few minutes later, they're pulling up there and parking. Puck stares out the window at the deserted bridge and then sighs heavily, closing his eye and leaning back into the seat.

"Quinn had the baby tonight," he offers softly.

Rachel's mouth falls open and she starts to speak but then Puck continues.

"She was beautiful, Rach. So gorgeous. She looked so much like my sister, Sarah, when she was a baby. And I got to hold her…and then…" His voice falters as the words catch in his throat. Rachel can tell he's fighting back tears and she wants to reach for him but before she can, he elbows open the door and he's dashing out into the downpour toward the bridge.

Rachel watches him and then jams her own door open and runs after him. She catches up to him as he's standing in the middle of the bridge, his face turned upturned toward the rain that's falling heavily. Rain is sliding down his face and onto his bare chest, which is heaving. For the first time ever where Noah is concerned, Rachel's scared. She's not scared _of _him but _for _him. She's never seen him like this.

She watches him silently as he tilts his head back down and looks at the ground. He kicks a stone and it ricochets off the iron of the bridge and falls into the raging river below. She eyes him as he swears and punches the air several times and then he drops to the ground, landing on the wet concrete on his behind. Rachel doesn't think about the water or the fact that they're back on the haunted bridge or that she'll get soaked. As she runs to him and drops down on the concrete beside him, the only thing she can think about is that this is the boy that owns a huge chunk of her heart, even if he doesn't know it, and if he needs her, she's going to be there.

Rachel sits down on the drenched pavement and puts his head in her hands, tilting it up towards her. He opens his eyes and looks at her. Even as the rain falls down his face, she can tell that there are tears mixed in. "I gave my baby away tonight, Rachel," he whispers. "I held her, told her that I loved her and that I was sorry, and I gave her away."

Rachel feels her own tears begin to fall as the pain in his voice reaches her heart. "You did the right thing, Noah," she says sternly.

His shoulders slump and his arms slide around her back, pulling her into his lap. "I know, Rach, I know. But it doesn't make it any easier. How do I go through each day realizing that there's a baby girl out there whose daddy didn't want her and just gave her away? I did that. What kind of man am I?"

Rachel's heart breaks as she listens to him. _This _Noah – the one with heart and emotion and care, usually seems to reveal himself only to her. Rachel braces her hands on either side of his wet cheeks and forces him to meet her eyes. "What kind of man are you? You're a good man who wants his daughter to have the best life possible and knows that he can't provide it for her because he's so young. But Noah, you and Quinn created a beautiful baby who is bringing joy to a family who could otherwise not have a child of their own. I know your heart is breaking but think about the gift you've given those two people? Think about the gift your daughter will be to those people for the rest of their lives? Noah, what you and Quinn did was selfless…. It's admirable. And it's _brave._"

Puck sighs loudly. "But I'm not brave. I wanted to keep that baby, Rach. I wanted to raise her. But Quinn—Quinn didn't believe I was good enough to raise our daughter. So she insisted that we give our baby away because I'm a loser and a jerk. Hell, I couldn't even make my relationship with _her_ work and she was the mother of my child." Puck flexes his jaw and Rachel can't tell if he's going to yell or cry. "Fuck, I know I'm a loser, Rach, but I don't _want_ to be."

His lack of belief and harsh self-assessment angers Rachel and she pushes herself off his lap and grabs his arm to haul him up. When they're standing, she points her finger at him and raises her voice.

"Noah Puckerman, I refuse to allow you to say those words ever again. You are _not _a loser. I know—look, Noah, I know I've already had my chance with you, more than once, and I always blow it but if I ever did have another chance, I'd show you that not all girls are like Quinn Fabray. Not all girls are going to treat you like you're expendable and talk to you like you're trash. Yes, you made a mistake and got Quinn pregnant but you know what? That took both of you. She's just as much to blame as you and her insults to you are intolerable. You're a talented, gifted, handsome young man with a bright future if you'd only apply yourself. Any girl who sees _anything less _than that doesn't deserve for you to even look her way. You are _not _a loser and I never, ever want to hear you call yourself that again. Do you understand me?"

Rachel is staring at him with fire in her eyes. Her hair is soaked and her clothes are plastered to her body and Puck's not sure he's seen, or heard, anything so beautiful. But he doesn't believe it.

"How can you say that, Rachel? How do you know?" He's shouting into the rain and at her but he doesn't care. He needs her to explain.

"How do I know, Noah? Because I watch you…I watch you all the time when you aren't looking. I catch you doing your homework when you're pretending to be looking at a magazine. I've heard you in the auditorium practicing when you think you're alone. I've seen you look at the bulletin boards advertising colleges and I _know _you want to go away to school. I know you care about doing well in sports even when you make jokes about how your team always loses." Rachel is practically shaking now because she needs him to understand. "I know because every single time I'm in the same room with you, I forget to breathe. I forget how to inhale and exhale, Noah! My tongue gets all twisted up and my heart pounds and my fingers itch to touch you. And I know for a _fact _that I would not _ever _have a reaction like this to someone who was a loser! But you, Noah…you're a diamond in the rough. You have this scratchy, tough exterior but inside you're… you're so much more than that. And you seem to only show that side _to me_ and it only makes me fall a little harder for you every single time you let me in a little bit more."

Puck wants to blame it on the rain. He didn't really hear her, did he? She's falling for him?

"You're falling for me, Rachel? What?" He stalked toward her, his shoes splashing in the standing water, until he's standing just centimeters from her. Her eyes are wide and open and she's absolutely drenched but all he can do is kiss her. He takes her head in his hands and guides his mouth down towards her in a heavy kissed laced with more emotion than he's willing to admit. Rachel cries out and he swallows her voice as he angles her head to kiss her more deeply. When his tongue slides inside her mouth, he's sure that his heart skipped at least three beats. Even as he kisses her, he can't believe that she said those things. But he knows her well enough to know when she's sincere and _that _was the most sincere he's ever seen her.

He tilts his head back and looks down at her. Her eyes are closed and her face is upturned toward him and it's now getting wet since he's no longer covering it with his own head. She slowly opens her eyes and smiles up at him. His hands fall to her waist and he pulls her against him, her wet shirt rubbing against his bare chest.

"Do you mean it?" he asks just before his lips brush the rain from her cheeks.

She sighs and sags into his embrace, whispering, "more than anything," as he slides his lips over her rain-slickened forehead.

Puck nearly growls as he kisses her again and then he's backing her up against the wet, cold iron of the bridge and his lips are sliding over her face and down her neck. His tongue flicks out and he licks the water from her skin. Rachel shivers against him but links her arms around his back and pulls her against him. His hands slide all over her body, trying to reach her skin below the wet clothing, because he needs to _feel _her. She sees the desperation in his eyes and feels his fingers fumble against the hem of her wet shirt and she reaches down, stilling his hands on her sides. He looks up at her and she smiles as she slides the top button through the loop and her shirt opens a little bit more. Puck's eyes grow dark and his lips attach to her neck as he knocks her hands out of the way and begins unbuttoning her shirt the rest of the way. When it's hanging open and there's nothing between them but the thin, soaking wet cotton of her sensible white bra, Puck looks around. He knows that they can't continue this standing on the bridge but he also knows that they _have _to continue this. Rachel sees the confliction and desire in his eyes and slips his hand into hers and together, they dash through the torrential downpour back towards her car.

Puck yanks open the door to the backseat and pushes Rachel in first and then dives in behind her. When they're inside, he reaches in the front seat for the blanket she'd given him early and tosses it at her. Her teeth chatter loudly but it is drowned out by the sound of heavy raindrops bouncing off the metal roof.

Rachel uses the blanket to absorb the water from her hair and then tosses the blanket toward Puck. He brushes it over his head and then drops his face in it, lost in the feel the dry warmth for a moment. When he pulls it away, he looks over at Rachel and is surprised to see her slipping her shirt off and undoing her bra.

"Rach?" he whispers softly, his voice raspy.

Rachel smiles shyly at him as she lifts her hips off the seat to push down her soaking wet shorts. Puck nearly chokes when she pushes her panties down, too, and then turns toward him in the dark car. His eyes skim over her naked body as the lightning illuminates it and he groans because she is _so fucking sexy _and she _wants_ him. He finally meets her eyes as he pulls her into his lap. She moans as his hands roam over her body, stopping to palm her breasts. Her skin is still so damp but the heat of his hands seems to seep below the first layer of her skin and warm her up from the inside out. She bends into him when he drops his lips to her nipple and softly licks around it before sucking it into his mouth and applying pressure. Her hands slide over his broad shoulders and come back wet because he's still dripping from the rain. Rachel gently takes the blanket and slides it over his back and shoulders, absorbing the water. Before she can help herself, she's lowered her mouth to his collarbone and licks some of the raindrops from his skin. Puck hums low in his throat as she slides her tongue down his chest and licks the bead of rainwater that is clinging to his nipple.

When she pulls back and looks up at him, she can see what she's done to him. His mouth is open and his eyes are glazed and she thinks he just looks _hungry. _His arms grip her tightly and he pulls her chest flush against his. She sighs heavily when the cold metal of his nipple ring rubs against her breasts and the sound makes him growl in response. Her body is so small and perfect that he feels like he can wrap himself completely around her, so he does just that. He leans forward and her head rests against the seat in front of him as slides his lips over her damp skin. He's not sure he's ever needed anyone so badly in his life as he does right then with her naked in his lap. Rachel's mewling against him, her body humming from need, when Puck stills her movements and lifts his hips to rub against her so that she can _feel_ how much he wants her. Rachel whimpers and grinds down on him, a begging look in her eyes.

He wants to fuck her _so _badly but he needs her to be sure. "Rach…we can't…you're still…"

Rachel shakes her head and puts a hand to his lips.

"I want to, Noah. I…I told you how I felt…This is exactly what I want."

Puck pushes her off his body and shucks his shorts down toward the floorboards. Reaching into his pocket, he yanks his wallet out and grabs the condom hidden from within. With his eyes on her, he strokes himself a few times. The look in her eyes as his hand slides down his length is almost enough to send him soaring without ever touching her so he quickly tears open the package and slides the condom down over his erection. As soon as it's on, he grabs her again and hauls her back against him, pulling her across his lap and angling her hips just right. He latches his lips to hers just as he pushes his body upwards, parting her soft folds and gently sliding the very tip inside. Her breath catches as nervousness takes over so he kisses her roughly until he feels her relax around him. When she is pliant in his arms, he pushes in deeper. She cries out at the pain she feels and it hurts him to hear so he kisses her softly and whispers that it's okay. She nods, shifting around him, as she gets used to the feeling of fullness inside her. He looks at her in the face and is nearly overwhelmed by how beautiful she is as he begins to guide himself in and out of her with his hands on her hips. She opens her eyes and locks her gaze with his before leaning forward to kiss him as she experimentally rolls her hips, urging him even deeper inside her. He swears into her mouth and presses her down more fully on him. She moves with him and the rhythm that they establish is in time to the sound of the rain plunking against the metal roof of her car.

A few minutes later, when she comes just seconds before he does, she's clinging to him and he's clinging to her just as tightly. He kisses her neck before his lips travel up and over her chin and then skims against her lips. He whispers, "thank you" against her mouth and she pulls away just enough to ask him what he means. Puck leans back in the seat and hauls her tightly against his chest.

"I mean thank you for…_you_. For listening. For being here. For caring. For giving a damn. And…" his eyes rake over her damp breasts, "for _this_, obviously."

Her eyes fill with tears so reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck and pulls his lips back down to hers. As he rolls her beneath him and down into the seat, nipping and tugging at her naked flesh, she closes her eyes and sighs softly. She's so glad that this happened with him. She honestly couldn't imagine it with anyone else. She wonders what tomorrow will bring but when he slips inside of her again, she can't help but think that she's just experienced the most amazing night of her summer.

* * *

Near the end of July, Lima has its Founders Day celebration. This year is special, though, because it's the 175th anniversary of the town's founding there is a huge celebration. The day starts with a parade through town and then it's time for the play. Rachel's been in practice for this play since school practically let out and tonight's the night of the performance. The play, called, "You Can Always Come Back", was written by a Lima local and is, as Rachel tells Puck one night, "Not completely terrible." She decides to participate in this play, rather than the one that's going on over at the Community Theatre, because this one's a musical and she can showcase her talent, even if the song composition and arrangement leaves a lot to be desired.

When the curtain goes up inside McKinley's auditorium, Rachel is out on stage because her character will be the tour guide through the history of Lima. As she's singing her first number, she glances down into the front row and sees Noah there, smiling at her. She nearly falters, even though she knew he was coming, because it's still a bit of a shock for her to realize that he is _hers. _

Her performance is flawless (of course) and she gets a standing ovation. Once she's changed out of her costume and has removed all her stage makeup and replaced it with nothing more than a swipe of mascara and a dab of lip gloss, she opens the dressing room door and sees Puck standing across the hall, leaning against the wall with a bouquet of tulips dangling from his long, tapered fingers. He smiles when he sees her and wraps his arms around her.

"You were amazing, babe. Totally blew me away."

She grins and then kisses him before fawning over the flowers. The director, who tells Rachel that she's so proud of what she did and that she will someday be a Lima legend, interrupts them. She asks Rachel who the handsome young man is with her and before she can do the introductions, he says, "Noah Puckerman. I'm her boyfriend."

Even though she _knows _they're together because they've been officially dating since the night out at the bridge when they crossed the line that can never be uncrossed, it still sends a thrill racing through her when he publicly announces it.

Once they leave the auditorium, they head out to the huge park at the edge of town for the fireworks. Puck argues most of the way that fireworks are "fuckin' lame" but goes anyway because Rachel loves them and it keeps her from bitching (plus he loves to see her smile.)

They park the Jeep and grab a blanket and head toward the edge of the crowd. Rachel spreads the blanket on the ground and Puck sits down, pulling her down with him. She slides between his legs and he wraps his arms around her, resting his head on top of hers, as they watch the fireworks. The crowd around them _ooohs_ and _aaahs_ and Rachel squeaks a few times when there is a particularly brilliant display overhead.

When it's over, the crowd disperses but Rachel and Puck linger. By that time, they're lying on their sides, facing one another, while talking quietly.

School starts again in two and a half weeks and neither one of them is ready. Puck's starting his senior year and has to start thinking about college. He's the first to admit, though, that he needs help in that area. Lucky for him, his girlfriend is an avid overachiever and she's already mapping out a plan for him. But when she starts rambling about aptitude testing as part of college entrance exams, he cups a hand over her mouth to shut her up because all he really wants to do is kiss her.

The kisses are gentle until Rachel pulls him on top of her and wraps her legs around his waist. He's so hard that he can barely think straight but the one sane part of his brain that's left knows that he can't take her on the blanket in the middle of a park where there are still dozens of people lingering. When he pulls away, she grunts and whines but then sees the look in his eye and shuts up quickly. They stand up, gather their shoes and the blanket, and take off.

Puck grabs her hand and pulls her into the woods on the edge of the park. Rachel immediately becomes nervous because she _hates _any stand of trees since the night Puck made her watch _The Blair Witch Project_ earlier in the summer. But when he stops once they're several hundred feet inside the grove and there is no one around, she tries to relax because she knows that he'll never do anything to put her in danger. When he picks her up, spins her around, and presses her against a huge oak tree, she forgets about everything but first, the feel of his lips on hers and then, a little later, the friction of his body moving inside hers. After they're spent and are both panting against each other, Rachel tells him that she hopes that someday, they can have sex in an actual bed.

Puck chuckles. "I dunno, baby, we've been doing fine so far. Backseats of cars, front seats of Jeeps, against trees…fuck, I'm pretty impressed, myself."

Rachel re-adjusts her panties and skirt as Puck is disposing of the condom (she makes him put it back in the wrapper and take it with them because carelessly discarding DNA is concerning to her) when she looks up at him and says quietly, "I don't want this summer to end."

He re-zips his pants and then walks toward her, tugging her to him. "Me neither, babe…."

He knows she's going to launch into some kind of speech, so he kisses her until the worry is erased from her face.

As they're walking back to the truck, Rachel realizes that he doesn't let her get too carried away with herself and that when she's with him, he forces her to relax and just take things as they come. She loves that he lets her rant but then shuts her up with a kiss when he's had enough. And she loves that he makes her laugh by telling dirty, perverted jokes at inappropriate times because he's forcing her to loosen up. When he opens the Jeep door so she that can get in but then kisses her hotly before closing it, she's pretty sure that she may just love _him_. As they're driving back to her house, she can't help but think that she's just experienced the most pivotal night of her summer.

* * *

Sunday night, Rachel's last night of freedom before school starts the next day, finds her sitting on her bed, flipping through last year's _Thunderclap. _Her eyes travel over the photo of creepy Jacob Ben-Israel before she flips the page and her gaze settles on an image of a pregnant Quinn. Then she sees Noah and Finn in the football photo, both refusing to smile (with Puck looking particularly threatening.) Finally, she flips to the back and finds the picture of the Glee club. Her eyes linger over the faces of the 12 students, including her own, and Mr. Schuester and her mind begins to whir.

_Will Kurt be awful to me again this year?_

_Will Mercedes have a panic attack every time I get a solo and she doesn't?_

_Will Santana still treat me like I'm carrying some contagious disease?_

Her eyes settled on the blond girl. _Will Quinn go back to calling me Manhands and RuPaul and be horrible again? Just because she softened up before the baby was born doesn't mean anything._

Glancing away from the picture, her eyes fill with tears. _I don't want this year to be like last year. _

She looks down again and she finds herself staring into the eyes of the tiny image of Noah. _Did it really happen? Are we really together? Will things just dissolve tomorrow and be like this summer never happened? Will he act differently around me or pretend that he doesn't know me in the morning? _

Rachel quickly closes the book, fighting the urge to let insecurity take her down. _This year _will_ be different._

As if she conjured him up, suddenly Puck is outside her window, tapping on the glass. She grins and launches herself from her bed, opening it up and helping him to climb through.

He pulls his shirt over his head and begins to kick off his shorts while locking his lips to hers the second he is inside. When she pulls away, he is angling her toward the bed.

"My fathers are downstairs, Noah!"

"We'll be quiet. But _fuck_, Rach, this is our last night of summer. Hell starts again tomorrow. Let's enjoy it."

He cocks his head to the side and pouts his lips, his hazel eyes begging, and Rachel gives in, opening her arms to him. He stops long enough to pull her shirt over her head before climbing on the bed and guiding her up toward the pillows with his body. When she's reclining back against the soft, fluffy pink pillows that cover her bed, he brushes the hair from her face and then slants his mouth over hers, taking her lips firmly.

"I'll pick you up at 7:15 in the morning, 'kay?" he says, between kisses. She nods, closing her eyes and arching into him when his hand slips between them and travels down her body, pushing the fabric aside.

"So we're really doing this? Right?" She is breathless but she has to voice her concerns.

Puck's fingers slow their work between her thighs and he asks, "_This, _like what I'm doing to you right now or _this, _like you and me?"

Rachel cries against him when his fingers twist upwards inside her and she punches out the words, "Us, Noah... _Oh_, _right there...._"

Pulling away from her, his hazel eyes linger on her lips before looking up to meet her eyes. "Babe...you've _been_ here this summer, right? Fuck yeah, we're doing it...and right this time, too. This isn't a repeat of last year."

She sighs happily and pulls his lips back down to hers. School will start again tomorrow and when she's buried under homework and the annoyances of high school, she knows she'll remember this summer as the most amazing one she's ever had and probably _will _ever have. The days were full of work and accomplishment.

_But, oh, those summer nights...._


End file.
